Default Gateway

[Terry Johnson_1]

Hello All,

What are the implications to using a 10.20 host as it's own default gateway to avoid access disruption when a router fails?

Thanks

Gross

[Jeff Machols]

I would think none, but how often does your router fail? They are usually pretty stable

[Patrick Wallek]

If you have a default gateway set for a server, and the default gateway dies, how will it help you by setting the server itself as its own default gateway?

If your entire network is routed and your users are on a different subnet from the server, then yyour users will be out of luck if the router dies. The only alternative is if your server has 2 NICs on different subnets.

[Michael Tully]

Hi,

The best way would be to set a second
NIC card on the server as the gateway.
I wouldn't set the primary NIC, as then
it would have to direct all traffic,
as from it's own server. The second NIC
should also be on a different subnet.

A switch/router is *still* the best way
for gateways. Servers are really an
alternative and not a fantastic one,
otherwise there wouldn't be any.

-Michael

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi Buzz,

default gateway provides connectivity to all the subnets that your system can't reach directly or through static routes. If you want to setup your system as a default gateway, you need to have access to all the subnets that your default gateway has access to.

-Sri

[Darrell Allen]

Hi,

Don't try it. If your server's default route is to your server itself, it needs to know how to (and be able to) get to other networks. A default route to itself to figure out another route? It just isn't going to work like that. The server would have to know a route to the destination and if it did it wouldn't be using the default route in the first place.

Besides, if the true router / gateway is down and that's how your server gets to other networks, the server will not be able to get to the other networks. Bottom line, the default route needs to be to the true gateway.

Your server can actually be configured as a router. And then you still don't really need a default route because as a router, your server should know how to get to other networks.

Darrell